Are You an Emotionally Intelligent Leader?

We've got centuries of leadership practice and training from some of history's best leaders, and we have 30 years of emotional Intelligence data we've input into leadership.

You can find leadership development training everywhere. Academic schools, business schools, trade schools and company trainers have put together leadership development courses to teach a potential leader how to be the best leader. But most touch only briefly on crisis leadership or emotional intelligence in leadership and move on to the next topic.

There is no precedent on how to lead a physically absent team. Will the same skills, prioritized in the same order and taught in the same way, be as effective when the group dynamic has shifted?

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt

Leaders are expected to have the necessary skills and knowledge to bridge gaps and shore up any leaks in the system. They know you see the end goal and trust you have everyone's best interests in mind as you help them overcome professional and personal challenges along the way.

Sounds good, right? If you aspire to be a leader that enacts change in the organization, in the employees you lead, in the community and even within your family unit, you must first be emotionally intelligent in both principal and practice.

Emotional Intelligence comprises five emotional characteristics that should remain a "work in progress" for a lifetime.

5 characteristics of emotionally intelligent leaders

1.  self-awareness- You must know how you feel, why you feel that way and how it affects the people around you. When you can't identify your own emotions, you don't recognize them in other people leading to miscommunication and hurt feelings. Knowing the emotion behind the person's words lets you consider the best approach to the situation while making the person feel supported.

2.  self-regulation-Keep your emotions in check (remain calm) and stay optimistic even in high-stress situations. Your ability to calmly look at the steps ahead and take them one at a time helps keep tensions from flaring.

3.  motivation-Show it. Motivated people ignite motivation and inspiration in others.

4.  social skills-"Who you gonna' call," when stress is high, and acceptance of diversity has strayed, or some other employee conflict arises? It's your job to ensure a greater understanding between employees by understanding effectively and practicing empathy.

5. empathy-Demonstrating compassion by relating to your employee's situations builds trust and loyalty among employees and other staff, that you will work through solutions together.

It's easier to practice interpersonal emotional intelligence skills in an onsite setting where you share physical space with your employees, but not many do this anymore.

The stage set look has changed, but the props are the same. Creative use and reprioritizing the order of the emotional characteristics will help everyone adapt to the new scene.

It's Not What You Know; It's What You Know You Feel

Employee management is tricky when you can't rely on your sense of sight to know if you are hitting the mark or missing it entirely.

Remote leaders with a solid, emotionally intelligent foundation will question their lead with their remote teams and be unsure of some of their directives.

A study by Jenell Wittmer published in the Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies demonstrated how two of the five emotional intelligence characteristics, have emerged as most valuable for remote work.

They are:

•  Self-awareness – Most people probably don't know if their leader exhibits self-awareness or if they are self-absorbed. If you know your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you can recognize them in someone else and even out the playing field. Self-awareness is not a simple task to improve. It requires you to make a conscious effort to understand who you are, understand who others are and know your commitment to the future.
  A self-aware leader can admit their mistakes and shortcomings and learn from them. They use feedback to do better. They inspire and motivate struggling employees and applauds those doing a good job.
  
•  Self-regulation – This is also called self-management because you learn to manage the emotions inside you and prevent emotional outbursts and haphazard decisions resulting from high a heightened emotional state.

5 self-regulation strategies for managing emotions

1. situation selection-the ability to select situations less likely to lead to emotion regulation issues.

2. situation modification-the ability to modify a situation that might trigger emotional regulation issue.

3. attentional deployment-using attention strategically in ways that distract us from the source of hard to regulate emotions.

4. cognitive reappraisal-changing the way we view the situation. this can involve changing the way we view our emotional reaction to a situation.

5. response modulation-attempting to alter our actual emotional response.

Cognitive reappraisal is most useful for remote leadership, which reframes a situation through reinterpretation and perspective-taking. It focuses on broadening perspectives by looking through different 'lenses' and works by improving situational awareness.

5 leadership skills of a self-regulated leader

1. conflict resolution

2. decision making

3. the ability to inspire followers

4. the reception and provision of feedback

5. the willingness to take risks

The changing workforce requires leaders to be resilient, adapt and overcome obstacles and regulate emotions in self and others that stop the flow of a working system.

As remote work tools advance, adjusting to digital meetings and tiring, “get-to-know-you” team gatherings will become easier. Leaders will learn new ways to assimilate the information necessary to make decisions, and with every success, they will build confidence in their ability to lead a remote team.

Knowledge is power, and the most powerful piece of advice is “You must first know thyself” before you can understand anyone else, anywhere else…

When you partner with Ulliance, our Life Advisor Consultants are always just a phone call away to teach ways to enhance your work/life balance and increase your happiness. The Ulliance Life Advisor Employee Assistance Program can help employees and employers come closer to a state of total well-being.

Investing in the right EAP or Wellness Program to support your employees will help them and help you.  Visit https://ulliance.com/ or call 866-648-8326.

The Ulliance Employee Assistance Program can address the
following issues:
• Stress about work or job performance
• Crisis in the workplace
• Conflict resolution at work or in one’s personal life
• Marital or relationship problems
• Child or elder care concerns
• Financial worries
• Mental health problems
• Alcohol/substance abuse
• Grief
• Interpersonal conflicts
• AND MORE!

References

Billau, C. (2021, November 19). Emotional Intelligence proves significant to remote leadership in a crisis. Retrieved from Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2021-11-emotional-intelligence-significant-remote-leadership.html

Finkbeiner, K. (2021, April 14). The Importance of Emotional Intelligence for Remote Managers. Retrieved from Zevo Health:https://www.zevohealth.com/blog/the-importance-of-emotional-intelligence-for-remote-managers/

Team, I. E. (2022, April 18). Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Why It's Important. Retrieved from Indeed:  https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership#:~:text=Emotional%20Intelligence%20in%20Leadership%20and%20Why%20It%27s%20Important,3%20Tips%20for%20improving%20your%20emotional%20intelligence%20